A long night waiting for the call that never came

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By midnight on election night it was clear that the American
people had spoken. John Kerry took a little longer.

On one hand it was understandable that he waited a day before
conceding the race to President George Bush. Fresh in everybody's
mind was the 2000 election, when Al Gore gave up on Florida and
handed the White House to Mr Bush, before retracting his concession
speech and asking for a recount. Things got ugly, and ended up in
court.

Senator Kerry did not want to make a similar mistake. He wanted
to make sure the race really was over before he bowed out. He was
counting on votes in Ohio, but it was not another Florida. Mr Bush
was 100,000 votes ahead, and he had a clear majority, or 52 per
cent of the popular vote as well.

Mr Bush would have been within his rights to declare victory any
time after midnight but he didn't because, by tradition - and
because it's polite - the winning candidate should not declare
victory until after the loser has conceded defeat.

Senator Kerry felt he could not concede: to do so would enrage
supporters who wanted every vote counted. So, for hours after the
result was known he sat in his Boston townhouse with his wife,
Teresa Heinz Kerry, his daughters and his running mate, John
Edwards, trying to figure out what to do.

Meanwhile, thousands of fans waited around the corner, in the
rain, staring at an empty stage.

At 2am TV cameras spotted a motorcade approaching Senator
Kerry's house. It was the elder statesman of the Democratic Party,
Senator Ted Kennedy. He stepped out of his car and slipped inside,
presumably for a long chat.

At the White House Mr Bush and his family were goofing around on
sofas, waiting to declare victory. But no concession speech
came.

Instead, at 2.30am, Senator Edwards walked onto the stage at
Copley Square. The announcer called him "the next vice-president of
the United States", which was, by then, a flatly unbelievable
description.

Senator Edwards played the same game. He told the crowd that
Senator Kerry's team would wait "one more day" before declaring
that they had won the election. Perhaps Mr Bush thought reality
would dawn on his opponents, because, aides said, he sat up until
5am, before going to bed, and sleeping for just two hours.

Then, at 11.02am, one of Mr Bush's assistants came on the
speaker phone to say that Senator Kerry was on the line. He
conceded to Mr Bush on the phone. According to aides, Mr Bush told
him he had been a worthy and admirable opponent who had fought a
tough race.

Two hours later Senator Kerry conceded to supporters at Boston's
Faneuil Hall, a place that has served as a meeting hall since 1742.
"I'm sorry we got here a little bit late," he said. "And a little
bit short."

He described the campaign as a "good conversation" and, perhaps
acknowledging that it got nasty at times, he added: "Today, I hope
that we can begin the healing."

He said he had decided to concede because "the outcome should be
decided by voters, not a protracted legal process".

And he showed that he was, in the end, a patriot.

"I leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater
meaning to me now. And that prayer is very simple," Senator Kerry
said. "God Bless America."